Third Time is a Charm
by Lazy Tobi
Summary: All was going well in life. They were graduating soon. Their five-year dating anniversary was coming up and their thirteen-year friendship anniversary had just passed. Both of them had been accepted into the universities they wanted to attend. Then, from the boy who had never been wrong before, came the words, "I'm going to die young." NejiTen AU


**Disclaimer**: I think it's safe to say I'm not Kishimoto/SJ/what or whoever owns Naruto.

**- Third Time is a Charm -**

Being impaled sounds very painful to TenTen. She wasn't normally the squeamish type, too ready to dive into whatever "icky" thing there was, but now… her stomach churned, and not in the good way. She was sweating like crazy, and the creepy feeling of the hair on the back of her neck standing on end, like tickling fingers of ice, was a constant burden. Her eyes were warm, wet, and leaking furiously, just like her nose. TenTen knew it wasn't attractive, but he was the only one who'd found her pretty, anyways. It didn't matter anymore, not without him. Her dress was ruined and her make-up was now within its fibers instead of decorating her face, but it didn't matter anymore, either. Nothing did, not without him. Her body was wracked with pain, trembling and convulsing involuntarily, and sobs escaped her lips, bloodied from her teeth biting down on the too much, uninhibitedly.

The sad eyes of the workers glossed over TenTen's lithe form curled up in the fetal position on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. They were used to it, seeing people sob their eyes out. The newer employees were more sensitive to it, having not grown thick skin yet, and the older staff couldn't help but wonder what new death had occurred. It wasn't unusual, seeing a high school or university-aged kid bawling like newborn babies, but typically an adult would have come to sit with them after at least an hour. The kids usually were crying over relatives or friends that had acted in a stupid fashion or just dying from normal causes; either way, people who shared their pain sat and cried with them. The girl had appeared in fancy clothes like she was about to go to a grand outing (again, not too extraordinary), but it had been five hours and yet no one had joined her in her misery. Every single one of those excruciating hours she'd been crying a river or just staring at a wall, never-ending tears slipping down from her red eyes. She was utterly alone in her grief.

- (Crappy Break Line) -

TenTen laughed, unable to stop it from bubbling up from her stomach, through her esophagus, and out of her mouth. A light blush dusted her cheeks as she looked away, still laughing, as her query turned to return her gaze.

"What's so funny?" The boy complained, baring his teeth in a sneer. TenTen knew he was teasing her. Even at his worst, the boy had never been able to get angry with her.

"I don't know. It's just… I can't believe we're graduating in two weeks. I mean, it was just like yesterday when I was taller than you!" TenTen replied, laughing again. Memories made her eyes burn in nostalgia and the slight spasm of fear that growing up provided, but she kept the tears back. The boy gave a lop-sided smirk, one that melted the hearts of many; he ran a hand through his long, fluttering hair in embarrassment.

"Yes, well… that was a long time ago." He replied, thinking back to the bad, shameful times. TenTen looked back over to him, blowing a raspberry. She knew what he was remembering; the boy never seemed to shake those dark thoughts from his memories.

"Have you finished your speech, Mr. Valedictorian?" TenTen asked playfully, swatting at his hair like a cat with a toy. She was lying on her back with her head in his lap as he sat on the park wall. It was thick, made with stone that had been weathered down by kids and the earth alike; it had always been _their_ spot. Ever since they'd met in kindergarten, it had been their spot. No matter how many friends they gained or lost, they had never failed to meet up at the wall, alone but for the two of them.

"I… have, obviously." The boy looked away, a curious look overcoming his pale features. His silver eyes, usually so sharp and attuned to everything, had a misty quality to them. TenTen grabbed his chin betwixt her fingers, bringing him face-to-face, eye-to-eye with her.

"What was that pause for?" TenTen asked, suspicious. When the boy tried to look away, she tightened her grip on his chin, determined to get it out of him. Finally, he gave in with a minute sigh that seemed vexed.

"I'm going to die young, Ten." The boy whispered, eyes anywhere but on TenTen's face. A shock went through TenTen's spine, skyrocketing over her shoulders to settle in the pit of her stomach. She licked her lips, eyebrows tilting downward over her eyes in an irritated way.

"You're going to jinx yourself; don't say things like that." TenTen admonished, pinching the boy's side with her free hand. An ominous feeling froze its way down her body, resting in the base of her skull. Her best friend was coined the genius of his family, and no one doubted it. The words spouted forth from his lips, a young man who had always gotten straight 100s ever since grades were first taken in primary, were never taken lightly. So far, he'd never been wrong. When he said he had a bad feeling about playing with fire when they were five, he'd been right; the scorch mark on his forehead was living proof. When he'd told her not to leave his sight back in eighth grade, he'd been right: she'd worn her hair down that day, and a group of gangster-wannabes had mistaken her for someone else. Sticking to him like glue, the gangster-wannabes never approached her, too afraid of attacking someone society deemed as important. When he was unsettled about running through the woods with his younger cousin, the heir to their family's company back when they appeared to be identical, he'd been right; he'd been impaled by two arrows, the would-be assassins haven mistaken him for his cousin.

He had _never been wrong_.

"You're right, I'm sorry." The boy amended, voice devoid of emotions, bending down awkwardly to press his chapped lips against TenTen's. The usual passion that scorched her where his lips touched her didn't come; only the scratchy feeling from his dry lips came forth form the kiss. TenTen licked his lips before he drew back, eyes watching his cheeks redden. Although they no longer looked alike anymore thanks to puberty, sometimes he and his ever-blushing cousin were the same.

"Why would you say something like that, anyways?" TenTen tempted fate, releasing his chin. She didn't want to hear more of his death, but she wanted to know where the thought had originated from. It had been years since he'd slit his wrists, spitting verbal barbs of fate and destiny; he'd come so far from those times.

"I'm at peace with the world. It sounds strange, but…" The boy paused, leaning his head back to stare at the sky. A flock of birds flew over their heads, dancing with the clouds.

"I've definitely lived a lifetime. I've held enough loathing for a lifetime. I've held enough hope for a lifetime. I've held enough love for a lifetime. I'm… ready." He admitted, grasping TenTen's hand tightly when he said "love." Reflecting back on his past, TenTen couldn't exactly disagree. The boy had, from the age of four to thirteen, abhorred his family because his father had died on their property, and he'd blamed them until he'd head the truth of his father's death. The utter disdain he'd harbored was longer and harder than any family/friend/lover feud TenTen had ever heard of. Then, he'd let it all go, accepting their love because of one stupid kid with unbelievable words and his father's brother providing him with a letter his father had written just hours before he'd died. The boy had become immensely popular after that, once he started smiling here and there. The transformation had been beautiful. Then, as for the love, they had been dating since that fateful day in eight grade with those gangster-wannabes; it had been four and a half years since then.

"But that doesn't mean anything. You're happy, for once." TenTen argued, wanting to stamp out the spark or despair rising in her system. If she could talk him out of it, she could talk herself out of it.

"I've had it all, Ten. My family is one of the wealthiest in America; I've had everything I've wanted since I was thirteen. I'm a successful athlete; the only time I lose in sports is races against Lee, the _Olympic hopeful_. My grades are, and always have been, impeccable. That's three lifetimes in one, Ten." The boy said simply, placing his other hand over TenTen's, playing with her fingers. He didn't want to scare her, but it was just how he felt. It was that feeling he got whenever something big was about to happen to him, and this time… well, he couldn't feel anything beyond it. It was his time.

"But after what happened to your parents—"

"There are many people with sadder, more horrible stories than I. I know you're going to say I deserve this happiness, but I don't." He interrupted softly, gently, like telling a child they couldn't have the candy they wanted right before the child threw a tantrum. Swallowing hard, TenTen looked away from his inquisitive eyes, burying her face into his abdomen.

"Let's stop talking about it since you aren't seeing any sense." She muttered, voice muffled because of his shirt. A consoling hand stroked her hair slowly.

"As you wish."

Two weeks later on the morning of their graduation day, the call came. It was just a few minutes shy of noon when her cell rang, vibrating up a storm on her bathroom countertop; she was just getting to the finishing touches on her make-up before she donned her cap and gown for the graduation that started in just over two hours. TenTen didn't even check the caller I.D., thinking she knew who it was. She was dead wrong.

"Hey, N—"

"Hello, is this a, uh, a Miss TenTen?" An unfamiliar voice spouted from her phone. TenTen frowned, confused. No one had ever called her "Miss TenTen," not even any her teachers.

"Yes. Who is this?" TenTen questioned guardedly. If this was some whacko telemarketer, she was going to cuss him out.

"I'm sorry… there's been an accident." The voice started out cautiously. TenTen froze then, mascara brush falling into her sink.

"You're the I.C.E. contact for a Mister, um, Huge-a Neji?" The voice horribly mispronounced his last name like most people who weren't used to saying Asian last names.

"Y-yes. What's…" Words failed TenTen as Neji's words haunted her. _I'm going to die young_, he'd said. Neji was never wrong.

"He has been in an accident with a Miss Hinata Huge-a and a Mister Nare-oo-toe U-zoo-make-y. He's been impaled by some pretty large splinters, and we were wondering if you could fill out his papers… We cannot contact anyo…" As the voice went on, his words fell onto deaf ears. The cell slipped from TenTen's fingers, joining her mascara brush in the sink.

"Miss? _Miss_?" Her phone squawked as TenTen dry heaved into the sink, hands desperately clutching the countertop, eyes shedding the first tears.

_I'm going to die young_.

"Miss?"

_I'm going to die young_.

"Are you there, Miss?"

_I'm going to die young_.

A cry of unbridled pain threatened to rupture forth from TenTen, to ravage her body from her lungs and blaze a trail up her esophagus.

"I-I'm sorry, I… what hospital is he at? I'll come. I'll come." She choked out instead. Even if she was only going to say good-bye, she'd be damned before she let Neji go on his own. After assuring the man on the phone she was fit to drive and getting the address to the hospital, TenTen floored it. She forgot that she was in one of her best dresses, pulling on her ratty pair of Chucks without bothering with socks or tying the laces. She forgot that her hair was done up, running without abandon to her adoptive mother's car that completely swept the delicate style astray. She forgot that the speed limit was quite a bit less than what she actually did, managing to get to the hospital in what would have been record time if she'd ever needed to go there before.

From then, it was a haze. TenTen filled out Neji's paperwork, as much as she could of Hinata's, and essentially none of Naruto's since she really didn't know the stupid kid. She didn't exactly hear the hospital employees telling her Hinata and Naruto were in stable conditions and would be able to be released the following day. It escaped her when they told her the story they got from the witness who'd called 9-1-1. Apparently, Hinata and Neji were on one side of the street and Naruto was on the other. With the street then devoid of moving cars, Naruto started running across the it, unaware of his surroundings; Hinata and Neji, on the other hand, were hyper aware of theirs. Both saw the truck coming. Hinata took off instead of waiting patiently for her beau, reaching him before the truck did. She shoved him hard, out of the way of the incoming truck, attention solely on him; neither noticed the second car, but Neji did. The truck crashed into the car with the right away, sending it into a tree right next to them while the truck veneered off to the side. The car and large splinters from the tree flew toward Hinata and Naruto, and, with what seemed to be inhuman strength, Neji pushed the pair out of the way, taking the blow for them. They escaped with just minor injuries from small splinters, severe scraps from the pavement, and minor concussions; the car and the large splinters that went through his body, stopping before they made a mottled through-and-through, on the other hand, hit Neji. All that TenTen heard was "impaled" and "in surgery."

It was then that she started weeping uncontrollably. For six hours, she was by herself. For six endless hours, the pain was her burden to bear alone. When Hiashi, Hinata's father and Neji's uncle, showed up, he looked devastated. The call had come to him while he was waiting to board a plane to fly back home. His flight had been delayed for three hours, and he hadn't done a single thing but stew in fear, just like TenTen. TenTen's own adoptive parents, who had left her in the morning to go get her grandparents that lived two-hours away, didn't know anything had happened until the school board notified the graduates of the accident. Unaware of how strong TenTen's bond was with Neji, they didn't know something was amiss until she didn't show up on the stage when her name was called. They had showed up shortly before Hiashi and were stunned at how horrible TenTen looked. Naruto's adoptive father Jiraiya, like Hiashi, had been away on business when he received the call and had booked the first flight back home to see his boy. He arrived almost two hours after Hiashi and TenTen's adoptive parents.

Nine hours after TenTen arrived at the hospital, a surgeon with his scrubs covered in blood came out to the group of four. Only TenTen, her adoptive mother, Jiraiya, who was splitting his time between sitting with Naruto and waiting outside the emergency ward, and Hiashi remained since TenTen's adoptive father had taken her grandparents home.

"He's going to live." The surgeon proclaimed, pulling down his facemask. TenTen had held her breath ever since laying eyes on the man, and now her tears returned anew as she gulped in air. There was a collective sense of relief between the four, and even Jiraiya and TenTen's adoptive mother, who didn't have any connection with Neji, started to cry in relief. TenTen felt numb as her adoptive mother enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug; she'd never been so euphoric in her life. _Neji was alive_!

TenTen's adoptive mother literally had to drag her away from the hospital for the night. TenTen slept restlessly that night, returning to the hospital when visiting hours started. She sat in a chair slightly more comfortable than the ones in the waiting room, curled up in clothes she'd pilfered from Neji at one point or another. They had been through the wash many times and hadn't been back to the Hyuuga house in years, but she was convinced they still smelled like Neji. The imagined scent that clung to the clothes that were much too large for her provided comfort to TenTen.

When Neji finally woke up, TenTen started crying again. Even though Neji had been wrong, TenTen couldn't rub it in like she'd promised she would when it finally happened years ago. All she could do was hug Neji tight, telling him to never scare her like that again.

**A/N**: _This is me officially divorcing cannon. I don't know what this chapter 614/5 crap is. I know I haven't written Naruto FF in years because Naruto is just not interesting to me anymore, but Neji was my first manga love. I loved him for almost five years now, when I first discovered Naruto, and have been shipping NejiTen (my first shipping!) just as long. I couldn't _not_ do something in response to these imagined chapters. Excuse my French, but fuck Naruto right now. _

_Edit – I fixed it up and added a few details, but it's still the same. Thanks to y'all who have already reviewed and fave'd!_

_~ Tobi_


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